We now face what is hopefully a progression toward the dismantling of systemic racism. To make real change, educating ourselves to be better equipped in tough conversations is key. So is voting come November. So are the dollars you spend.

Youth To The People has donated $50,000 across Black Lives Matter, Black Girls Code, and the NAACP. Our team is committed to continuing the conversation within our company and on our platforms, and we invite you to join us. This is a living list of resources, and as we become aware of more we’ll continue to add them here.

If you’re looking to level up your skin routine, a pH-balancing cleanser is a good place to start. Youth To The People’s award-winningSuperfood Cleansergentle cleanser is vegan, cruelty-free, and biodegradable so you can cleanse, assured that no human, animal, or body of water was harmed in the process. After debuting last year for Earth Day, the whopping 16 oz.refill-sizedbottle of theSuperfood Cleansernow joins our permanent roster.

For over 30 years, Neenah, Inc. has met the paper industry’s need for sustainability by offeringENVIRONMENT® Papers—but even before that, their commitment to the environment began the day they opened their doors in 1873. Neenah’s FSC-certified Wisconsin-based paper mill is the first-ever mill to offer paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Neenah provides the FSC-certified Kraft paper that makes up Youth To The People’s recyclable boxes.

Throughout the last few months, we have been made crucially aware of our individual and global vulnerability—alongside our global health emergency, scientists have been continuing to communicate the facts about our impending climate crisis. We have an opportunity to empower collective action, to rewire the way we consume and live on our planet. ⁣⁣One item we need to address is our relationship with fashion.

When we set out to formulatetheYerba Mate Resurfacing Energy Facial, we did it withour ethosin mind. We have one world to protect for ourselves and future generations—it’swhy Youth To The Peopleisdedicatedto formulating products in California, packaging them all (even samples) in glass bottles and jars, and boxing them up with FSC-certified post-consumer recycled paper. But what about our products themselves? Enter sustainable sourcing.

In the first few years after diagnosis, I focused so much on fixing myself, and that was okay. Now, though, it is time for me to help other people, and that’s why I decided to participate in the AIDS Lifecycle Ride, a seven day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money for the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

With the launch of the Yerba Mate Resurfacing Energy Facial, we introduced a new kind of exfoliation: dual-action and triple-powered from a combination of physical and enzymatic exfoliation, boosted by caffeine from Yerba Mate. With this facial, we created something good for your skin and safe for the planet—something that wouldn’t cause microtears in your skin or create pollution in the environment.

The Covid-19 pandemic—the farthest-reaching global health crisis in generations—has forced numerous charities and charitable initiatives to abandon their plans in favor of innovating new ways to fundraise and support at-risk communities in an age of social distancing. In mid-March, as shelter-in-place took hold, AIDS/LifeCycle announced that this year’s ride would instead be virtual.

At YTTP, we think about our impact all year long. When we say that every day is Earth Day, it’s not just a tagline, but a way of thinking. So in planning what we wanted to do for Earth Day 2020 (which also happens to be the 50th anniversary of the holiday), we knew we wanted to go beyond excitement and education, and hopefully, play a part in triggering some real change.

When creating our classic oversized plastic bottle crewneck, YTTP Studios turned to one of our partners in sustainability, Upcycle, a Los Angeles-based sustainable clothing manufacturer. Upcycle creates clothing out of recyclable materials already available, and their in-house knitting and dyeing processes use 40% less water and power than conventional methods. "The [manufacturing] process needed a makeover," says Tabitha Vogelsong, co-founder of Upcycle.

How can you be the brightest light in somebody else’s life if you’re not feeling cared for yourself? But if we’re always putting just ourselves first, how can we also focus on caring for the community around us? If we’re only giving back to our individual selves, what damage are we creating to our environment along the way? What are we depleting for our own self-benefit?

We are a skincare brand, but we’re more than that, and from our origin as a company, we have kept the planet and the future in mind. We know we have work to do to make our operations greener, cleaner, and circular. Through these updates and continuing conversation, we are excited to challenge ourselves and our community to be the change, and to do better for our planet.

At Youth To The People, we try to be intentional and impactful in our support of our partner charities. OurGivingwork is where our hearts and minds meet. But what does this mean and how is it possible in a viral pandemic of unprecedented scale?